Fish lure



Sept. 20, 1949. 'G' PER 2,482,466

FISH LURE- Filed March 13, 1948 JNVENTOR. Zea Cooper I KM ' A TTORAEYJ' claims when considered in connection Patented Sept. 2Q, 1949 The present invention relates to a flsh lure of the type having a hook-carrying harness which may be detachably connected to a fish; lure body whereby the harness and bodies of different 'design may be readilyinterchanged as desired.

-According to the present invention, the harness is simple in construction and is secured to the body by a novel and efiective locking means which, while preventing accidentalseparatlon of thecharness in use, may ,bereadily' released when itxiS desired to change the lure body. ,,Further, thev harness provided with hookreceiving means which support and hold the hooks there-. on in predetermined relation and yet permit ready removal and replacement of ,-thei hooks thereon as desired. 1 j:

j The lure of the presentinvention may be used as a surface lure, an underwater lure, or a popper without modifying the structure of the same; Other features and advantages ofthe invention will be apparent from the specification and with'the drawings in which: j, Figure 1 shows an explodedvlew of the fish lureof the present invention. 1 Fig. 2 is a perspective view-of the assembled lure; ,i

: Fig. 3-is a side elevation of the assembled'lure; -'Fig. 4 is a side elevation'of another design of body .I

Fig. 5 is a top view of the body of Fig. -1. 1

-Fig:- 6 is a side elevation of anotherbody de As shown in the drawings,- the lure comprises a harness l anda lure body. secured thereto': Irr-the preferred form of theinvention the harness lll 'comprises a U-shapedmemberwhich-is adapted to fit in a harness-receiving means' on the'top; back and bottom of the lure body 'll and is-clamped thereto by yoke-l2.- The harness'is made of resilient Spring'wire andis adaptedto fit in=the harness-receiving means which is herein'il: lustratedas a groove l3 extending along the top and bottom and across the back of the' body: The body may be made of wood, plasticbrother similar buoyant material and is paintedn colored or-shaped to produce bodies of different design suchas shown in Figs. 1,4 and 6.. The legs 14, l'of the U are of, such a length that,- when the harness is in position in the groove with thebow in engagement 'with theback er the body; they project beyond the front face 16 of the body and are interlocked and "the ham ss clampedtothebodybytheyokeI251: a is; r

The interlock is accomplishedsby' forming the.

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projecting ends of the legs l4, IS with enlar e-1 ments such as eyelets l.'l, l8 and by formingjqhe yoke as a plate with apertures i9, 20 for receiving the eyelets. The apertures are spaced apart a distance less than the space between'ithe ends as shown in Fig. l so that when the legs are brought together and disposed in the apertures the resiliency of the legs will keep thelegs pressing against the outer edgesof the apertures and maintain the yokeand ends in interlocked relation. Also When the eyelets have been passed through the apertures, the legs of the harness are drawn together into tight engagement in the groove and the resiliency of the legs pulls the plate into clamping relation with the. front face of the plug body. s;

I- T he hook-carrying harness isprovided with novel means for supporting hooks therefrom whereby the hooks are held in predetermined p05.- sitionbut may be readily removed and new hooks or. hooks of different design or weight, as determined by the type .of fishing to be done, mayrbe associated therewith. This novel means comprisesa U-shaped loop 2| formed in theleg l5 intermediate the :ends thereof and a U=shaped loop 22 formed in the body of the U to project therefrom. Each of these loops is adapted to have the hook means 23, 24 suspended therefrom with theeyelets'. 25; 26 disposed in the loop. The loops 2|, 22 are sufiiciently large to provide free move ment-of the hooks thereon but have the upper ends 2|a, 22a substantially closed as shown in Fig. 1 so that the hooks cannot become dislodged from the loop and displaced along the leg or-bow to change the hooks on the harness, however, it

ismerely necessary to snap the eyelets 25, 26 by the ends'2la, 22a of the loops and thread the hooks along the legs to the ends and the replacement are @threaded along the legs and-snapped through the openings 2la, 22a in the end of the loops 2 l -22 and into the loop. 1

:In the preferred form of the invention the aperture l9 extends transversely of the plane of the eyelet l8. *Thus, any pull by a fish on the leg l5 cannot cause the eyelet to pull or carn through the aperture. However; the aperture permits'ready assembly of the device as follows? The plate l21is rotated through? and the ap-' erturepassed-over the eyelet l8. The plate-is then returned back through 90 and the: wire drops into thenotch 19a which maintainswit in It will be noted in this connection that any.

downward movement as may be occasioned by the weight of the fish on hook means 23 will tend to pull the leg l4 downwardly in the groove and aperture and the end of the leg Hi to increase Pull of a fish on hook means 24 which is located at the middle of the bow of the U will cause'the U to tend to flatten out and draw the legs tighter against the body while the plate is drawn against face l6 and restricts any rearward movement. Thus the harness cannot be accidentally released while in use by the weight or pull of'the fish thereon.

In the preferred form of the lure the front face l6 -of the body is inclined rearwardly from the lower edge of the body as shown in Fig. 3 and the plate overlying the body is flat and extends outwardly beyond the sides of the body. The bottom portion I241 of the plate projects below the body and forwardly so as to form an obtuse angle with the plane of the face. This structure permits the plug to be used either as a surface lure or as an underwater lure without modification.

When the line 2! is connected to the eyelet Is as shown in Fig. 3 the lure will ride on the surface of the water with the usual wiggling action. If the line is given a sudden jerk, due to the relation of the plate and body, it will provide the desired popping sound of a popper lure. If, however, the line is connected to the eyelet I! as in Fig. 2 this will cause the lure to tilt and because of the shape of the plate it will descend a predetermined distance under the water and move through the water in submerged position.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of this invention and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

I claim:

l. A fishing lure of the plug type comprising a body having herness-receiving means thereon; a U-shaped hook-carrying harness disposed in the harness-receiving means with the ends of the harness extending beyond. the front of thebody; and a yoke engaging and directly connected to each end of the harness and interlocked with said ends and securing the harness to the body,

2. A fishing lure of the plug type comprising a body having harness-receiving means thereon: a U-shaped hook-carrying harness disposed in the harness-receiving means with the ends of the harness provided with abutments and extending beyond the front of the body; and a plate detachably interlocked with said abutments and securin the harness to the body.

3. A fishing lure of the plug type comprising a body having harnessweceiving means thereon; a Ll-shaped hook-carrying harness of spring wire disposed in the harness-receiving means with the ends of the harness formed into eyes and extending beyond the front of the body; and a plate overlying the front of the body and detachably interlocked with said eyes, to secure the harness tcthe body. v

4. A fishing lure of the plug type comprising a body having a, harness-receiving groove extending along the top, bottom and around the back thereof; a U-shaped hook-carrying harness disposed in the harness-receiving groove with the ends of the harness extending beyond the front of the body; and a yoke extending between and directly connected to each end and interlocked with said ends to secure the harness to the body. 5. A fishing lure of the plug type comprising a body having a harness-receiving groove extending along the top, bottom and around the back therealso will tighten the action between the top of of; a U-shaped harness disposed in the harnessreceiving groove with the ends of the harness extending beyond the front of the body, the bow of the U-shaped harness and the leg disposed in the bottom groove having hook-receiving loops formed therein; hooks suspended from the loops; and a yoke having a portion directly connected to and extending around each leg and interlocked with said ends and securing the harness to the body.

6. A fishing lure of the plug type comprising a body having a harness-receiving groove extending along the top, bottom and around the back thereof; a U-shaped harness disposed in the harnessreceiving groove with the ends of the harness extending beyond the front of the body and the leg of the U-shaped harness lying in the bottom groove having a U-shaped loop; hook means having an eye disposed in the loop to be suspended thereby; and a yoke having separate apertures each receiving a leg of the harness and interlocked with said ends and securing the harness to the body.

7. A fishing lure of the plug type comprising a front face inclined rearwardly from its lower edge;' a body having a harness'receiving groove on the top', bottom and back thereof; a U-shaped resilient hook-carrying harness disposed in the harness-receiving groove with the ends of the harness extending beyond the front of the body and provided with enlarged eyes; and a plate overlying the front face and interlocked with said ends to secure the harness to the body and clamp the plate to the front face.

8. An interchangeable harness for fish lures comprising a U-shaped member having enlargements at the ends thereof; a yoke detachably interconnecting the enlargements; and hooks suspended from the harness,

9. An interchangeable harness adapted to'extend around the body of a fish lure comprisinga; U-shaped spring wire member having enlargements at the ends thereof; a rigid plate extending between and detachably interconnecting the ends: and hooks 'detachably suspended from the harness.

10. An interchangeable harness for fish lures comprising a U-shaped spring wire member hav--' ing line connecting eyelets formed at the ends thereof; a plate having eyelet receiving apertures for interconnecting the ends; and hooks suspended from the harness and detachably connected thereto.

11; An interchangeable harness for fish lures comprising a U-shaped spring wire member having eyelets formed at the ends thereof; a plate interconnecting. the ends of the member, said plate having a pair of eyelet receiving apertures therein, one aperture extending transversely of the plane of one of the eyelets whereby said one eyelet can he passed therethrough only upon the plate being rotated through and hooks car-- ried by said member, 7

12. An interchangeable harness for fish lures comprising a U-shaped spring Wire member having eyelets formed at the ends thereof and a hook receiving portion on one leg of the U-shaped Wire; a hook connected thereto; and a rigid plate interconnecting the ends of the member, said plate having a pair of eyelet receiving apertures therein, the aperture receiving the hook carrying leg of the U-shaped wire extending transversely of the plane of the eyelet thereon whereby the said eyelet can be passed therethrough only upon the plate being rotated through 90 and is held thereby against being withdrawn therefrom by a pull on the hook.

13. An interchangeable harness for fish lures comprising a U-shaped spring Wire member having enlargements formed at the ends thereof and lying in the plane of the member; and a plate interconnecting the ends of the member, said plate having enlargement-receiving apertures therein, one aperture extending transversely of the plane of the enlargement whereby the enlargement can be passed therethrough only upon the plate being rotated through 90 and the other aperture being perpendicular thereto and spaced therefrom to permit the other enlargement to pass therethrough when the ends of the member are moved toward one another.

14. A fishing lure of the plug type comprising a body having harness-receiving means thereon; a U-shaped hook-carrying harness of spring wire disposed in the harness-receiving means with the ends of the harness formed into eyes and extending beyond the front of the body; and a plate overlying the front of the body and detachably interlocked with said eyes to secure the harness to the body, said plate having a portion extending below the edge of the body and forming an obtuse angle with theremainder of the plate and the enlarged eyes being located adjacent the top and bottom of the plate and forming line-attaching means whereby the lure, when the line is secured to the bottom eye, rides on the surface of the water and when the line is attached to the top eye the lure descends below the surface of the water.

LEO COOPER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 765,482 Hardy July 19, 1904 1,394,313 Leeper Oct, 18, 1921 2,217,565 Seigle et a1 Oct. 8, 1940 2,220,133 Sweeney Nov. 5, 1940 

